Goosie Goosie Gander

The Canada Goose is everywhere so it might be easy to overlook them and not take note of what a lovely bird they truly are. That would be a shame. Ordinarily rather shy, the male becomes quite brave and aggressive if anyone ventures to close to the nesting female or their new young. They're a fiercely loyal family bird - mating for life and staying close to one another throughout.

I have actually been in a car with a Canada Goose, heading down Highway 401 - Canada's busiest highway. Sadly, we were on our way to the Toronto Wildlife Centre with a very sick creature - a victim of a careless, thoughtless oil spill in our local pond. The poor thing passed away about five minutes before our destination. Three of them were killed this way, on that day. Please remember to never pour oil or other toxins down into the rain sewers. They often run off into lakes and ponds, as was the case at that time.

The pond has since been cleaned up and many geese are now thriving - including this beauty.